Google introduces new 11.6-inch Samsung Chromebook for $249 [video]

Google (GOOG) isn’t giving up its dream of putting a Chromebook in everyone’s hands yet. The company announced on Thursday a brand new Samsung (005930) Chromebook that weighs 2.5 pounds and measures 0.8-inches thick. Touted as the “Chromebook for everyone,” the notebook has an 11.6-inch display (1366 x 768 resolution), 16GB of internal storage, 100GB of free Google Drive cloud storage, 6.5 hours of battery life, 2GB of RAM, an SD card slot, one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port, VGA webcam and an HDMI out port. The most interesting part about the new Chromebook is its processor: a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual ARM, a CPU normally reserved for smartphones and tablets. Google is selling the Chromebook for $249 and it’s available for preorder starting today.

As with all Chromebooks, the machine boots up extremely fast in under 10 seconds and plays 1080p HD video smoothly. It’s not quite as full-featured as a MacBook Air or Ultrabook running Windows, but it should get the job done for basic Web surfing and video playback. And at $249, it’s a steal.